30 weeks with #3

I've finally hit the single digit countdown with 9.5 weeks left until due date. Along with that I've been hit with a few of the regular aches and pains that come along with the end of pregnancy. Crazy enough I don't have a lot of hip pain which was almost debilitating in the last two pregnancies. I've got some pretty serious lower back pain, some literal pains in the butt, and starting to feel a little kicked between the legs but so far things are manageable. I've gained about 40lbs so far so looks like I'm on track for the 50 I gained with Eli. That's a bummer but I don't care too much. I've been working out and I feel pretty good so I'll just have to worry about that later.

Eli seems a little excited about his new baby sister. He asks about her sometimes. We went with the name Taylor Elaine Motley and we've changed it several times so he's not sold on this name but he often says he's ready to have his new baby sister here or that he's ready to pick her up. I think the transition from 2-3 will be fairly easy with him because he just went through this change not too long ago and now seems to enjoy it. We started a chore/reward chart for him in hopes to get him just a bit more independant before the new baby arrives. It's an app that rewards him stars and he is really loving it! So are we!

Noelle is just as cute as ever! She wobbles around the house all day looking around and laughing. She gives Dadda a hard time and demands lots of cuddles and carrying but I recently read a blog post from when Eli was 15 months and he seemed to want to be carried a lot at that age as well so perhaps it's a normal stage. She's not so bad about it with me but Dadda likes to spoil her. I can see her having some jealousy issues with the new baby and I'm not so sure how she'll adjust but I'm hoping she'll be young enough that the transition stage won't be too rough for too long.

We had our first niece born yesterday! She was 8lb 7oz named Elizabeth Diane King. I am so excited that we'll have 3 girls in the family all within just 1.5 years. They'll be so close in age and hopefully close friends as they grow up. Eli and his cousins CJ and Daniel are all pretty close in age and Jack is also only about 2 years difference so I love that my sweet babies will have cousins to play with.

Danielle

Motley Party of 5!

I was looking back on this blog the other day and realized that documenting the process of building a family is so important. Time goes by so fast. In fact...our 2nd is already one and turning into a beautiful toddler. We are also expecting our 3rd in just 12 LONG short weeks. (WHY is the 3rd trimester so hard?!?) Noelle continues to be such a blessing in our life. She is a happy, chunky, cuddly little baby. She is 15 months. She started walking a few weeks ago and it's just so darn cute. She loves hugs, she eats pretty much anything though she prefers her diet more like her dads and thats carbs, meats, and cheese. Eli is starting to play with his little sister more and they get on each others nerves some too. His favorite game is tossing her onto a big floor pillow. It's definitely an accident waiting to happen but they both love it so I guess we'll wait until it does. Eli is 4 and so sweet. We still struggle with somethings about him (anger, roughness, rowdiness) but overall he is turning into a loving, sweet boy. He recently started t-ball and we just signed him up for karate. We've also been trying to get him into a public school for 4k. The general consensus is that he would thrive better in a full day school with more kids and free schooling doesn't sound bad either. I get a little sad thinking about because we love taking random trips in he middle of the year and week and that will put a damper on on that. I also get sad because there's no turning back. Once he is in school he is there for good and he still seems so young. I want to really savor his last year out of school but I know with two little ones it will probably be more stress than enjoyment to have all 3 home with me.
On that note, I guess I'll do a quick recap on my 3rd pregnancy. It started off a little icky but nothing too extreme. I ate a lot and gained a lot of weight fast. The 2nd trimester seemed to take longer to arrive in that it took longer to get rid of my morning sickness and ickyness. Later I felt great and I am just into my 3rd trimester. So far my hip pain and other pains have been more manageable which is surprising since it's the 3rd time around but I'll take it! Hope it last so I can keep working out for a little while.
Well Eli just woke up being all cute so let me go.
Danielle